“You know, we don’t have to do this yet Myeonnie.  Sehun is only 7 months old.  What if Jongin is too rough?  I don’t think he needs a best friend just yet,” Yixing nervously said aloud as the family of three stood outside of Minseok and Jongdae’s den. 

Junmyeon had (somehow) gotten Yixing to agree to a play date with Jongin.  Jongin’s parents and the two of them had set the date far in advance to allow for the sole alpha parent to properly psych himself up for this very day.  They had also set rough guidelines for the general activities that the play date would consist of.

At this very moment, Yixing teared up as he realized how big Sehun was growing and how in no time at all his son would no longer need to be under his protection after he left home in search of a mate.  He did not even want to think about his precious son mating with Jongin (that devil pup!).  He obviously wasn’t thinking straight when he had made that decision with his mate for this play date and was discussing activities with Jongin’s parents.  However, the play date was about to begin, and he didn’t want to be rude to Jongdae and Minseok who he actually admired as a couple.

The omega picked the white pup up off the ground to the sound of Sehun’s soft protests since he wanted to walk more on his own.  With small kisses to Sehun’s muzzle, the now satiated pup relaxed in the omega’s arms.

“Don’t be silly.  Sehun already knows Jongin and sometimes plays with him.  They’ve eaten next to each other many times as well,” Junmyeon reasoned as he opened the double fur covered door to the den and entered inside with said pup.

Yixing sighed heavily, and attempted to calm himself down with soothing thoughts that Junmyeon had helpfully told him to think of during the play date.  Jongin will not hurt Sehun.  He’s an alpha pup who has good parents.  He will play with Sehun gently and I will not take Sehun away. 

Thinking these happy thoughts, the alpha walked in after his mate and pup, and greeted Minseok and Jongdae who were currently petting Sehun.

“Hey, Yixing.  Looks like Sehun is excited to see us,” Jongdae greets as he rubs Sehun’s fluffy ears.

“Hello, Jongdae,” Yixing replied.  “Where’s Jongin and Minseok?”

At that very moment, a blur of chocolate fur shot into the den, an amused Minseok grinning widely as he sauntered in behind the fluffball.

“There’s your answer,” Jongdae chuckled.  “Jongin just had to use the potty.  And it looks like he’s excited that Sehun is here.”

Upon smelling Sehun’s scent in the air, Jongin had quickly finished his business and ran into his home.  The alpha pup saw the familiar bundle of white fur sitting on the ground.  Sehun was actually here in his home! 

Sehun Sehun Sehun Sehun Sehun, Jongin said through the bond as he essentially barreled into the smaller white pup and attacked him with everywhere on Sehun’s muzzle. 

Junmyeon, Jongdae, and Minseok gazed upon this scene with fondness.  Yixing, on the other hand, was terrified and his protective fatherly instincts told him to pull the pup off of his son.  He lunged forward and pulled the two pups apart.  However, the 10-month-old alpha pup was still grinning widely at an equally ecstatic Sehun.  The omega pup wagged his tail even though he was physically separated from his friend.  At this sight, Junmyeon groaned.

“Xingie.  We talked about this,” Junmyeon exasperatedly said. 

“I--.  You’re right.  I’m sorry,” Yixing apologized, facial expression full of regret over his actions as he glanced sheepishly at the three adults.

“No worries.  I totally understand wanting to protect your pup.  It’s only a parent’s nature,” Minseok said warmly as Yixing pat both pups softly on their heads before retreating back to where the others were standing.

“Thanks for understanding,” Yixing mumbled.

The two pups stared curiously at one another, then up at their respective parents.  They knew that they would be in for some fun times today.

“Lets allow them to play with each other for a little, then we’ll go out for some fun and games.  And we’ll all be right here to supervise,” Junmyeon said.

“Play,” Jongdae said softly to the two pups.

Hearing their favorite word, the two pups immediately began playing fighting, rolling around on the ground and playfully biting each other’s ears, tails and gripping each other using their developing teeth.  Meanwhile, the adults sat in the corner and began talking about important things, like the upcoming winter move to the apartments while the dens that they had all lived in for a long time were broken down and paved over for their new mansion that was being built in the next month.  All of their (admittedly a small amount) of personal possessions still needed to be packed, and each family would be going to the apartments one by one.

After play fighting to their heart’s content, the two pups ambled up to them, panting lightly.

Water, Sehun said confidently through the bond and Jongin barked in agreement.

Getting two bowls out, Minseok filled them with water from a large water jug with a spout for easy pouring and set them down in front of the two pups who thanked him before lapping up the cool and refreshing liquid.

“So what’s next?” Junmyeon asked.

“I was thinking we would give them some piggy back rides before Jongin gets too big.  He is getting heavy and can barely fit onto my back now, so this will probably be one of the last times we can do it,” Jongdae stated to Junmyeon and Yixing while sighing at the thought of how big his pup was growing every single day.

“They grow up so fast,” Yixing sighed as he watched the two pups finish drinking their water.

“Yeah,” Junmyeon said softly as Jongdae led the pups outside.

Once in the cool October air, the four adults shifted into their wolf forms, the wind lightly blowing through their thick and shiny fur.  Jongdae whined slightly while looking up at Yixing.  As a beta, he also had lean muscle and quick reflexes just as an alpha, but was built slightly smaller than the broader gray furred alpha in front of him.  To this, Yixing chuckled.

The black furred Jongdae immediately stopped thinking of his smaller build and instead crouched down and motioned for a pup to get onto his back.  Jongin was super excited to get a piggy back ride from his father, and immediately pounced into Jongdae, gripping tightly to prevent himself from falling.  Similarly, Sehun got onto Yixing’s back as well.

The two omegas exchanged delighted grins towards one another before walking directly behind the alpha and beta to make sure that either pup did not fall off.

Sehun and Jongin beamed at each other from their spots on each other’s backs, with Sehun peeking over and looking slightly down at Jongin from his spot on his bigger alpha father.  After a quick 10-minute walk to a clearing in the forest, Jongdae and Yixing set the pups down onto the forest floor again.

Minseok and Junmyeon again stood next to their respective mates as Yixing announced the next activity.

“Alright, little ones, time for some good old-fashioned tag,” Yixing said and motioned to Minseok to help him in showing the pups what he meant.

Almost immediately, the medium golden brown furred omega took off around the clearing in understanding.  With a final smirk directed at the two pups, Yixing set off to catch Minseok. 

Surprisingly, Minseok was a speedy and nimble wolf who gave Yixing a good challenge.  It took him a good minute for him to stealthily catch up to Minseok and tap a large paw onto the omega wolf’s rear haunch.

Good catch.  Now lets see how I do, Minseok joked as he turned around to now catch Yixing.

We’ll see, Yixing, Minseok quipped as the alpha dashed off in the opposite direction.

The pups watched in fascination, wanting each of their respective parents to be “It”.  Minseok caught up to Yixing a bit slower, but still was able to confidently tap a paw onto Yixing’s back.  With this victory, Jongin yelped in happiness, running over to Minseok to congratulate his appa.

Yay, appa!  You did it, Jongin said happily as Minseok crouched down to accept the to his muzzle while Jongdae rubbed his snout at his mate’s neck.

Similarly, Sehun rushed up to his own daddy along with Junmyeon to do the same to Yixing, playfully rubbing Yixing’s nose with affection while Junmyeon carefully the alpha’s snout.  After the congratulations on a good game between two of the adults ended, the attention again turned back to Sehun and Jongin. 

Now it’s your turn, little ones, Jongdae said as he motioned with his snout between the two pups to emulate what Minseok and Yixing had just showed to them.

With a tentative look at his own parents, Jongin focused his gaze onto Sehun.  Eyes widening in apparent understanding, Sehun quickly dashed off in the opposite direction to the chocolate pup.  The cool fall air felt good rushing through his soft and fluffy white fur.  After running away for a good twenty seconds, Sehun peeked behind him and saw the alpha pup hot on his heels. 

With a yelp, Sehun made a hard right, much to the surprise of the adults.  Jongin skidded to stop, and changed course in full pursuit of the omega pup.  Sehun was grinning widely as he ran away and thought that he had successfully gotten Jongin off of his path.  However, the white pup’s elation was halted by a larger pup pouncing on his rear end.  He huffed at the prospect of being caught, but his spirits were immediately lifted once Jongin playfully bit down on his tail.

With one last bark, Jongin released Sehun’s tail from his mouth and ran away while Sehun realized that he was now “It.”  The omega pup was now in full pursuit of the larger 10-month-old alpha puppy, and Jongin’s zig zagged and walked backwards at points to taunt Sehun a little before running away at his very fastest.  However, all of the fancy moves started wearing Jongin’s stamina down.  Consequentially, after about a minute or two of fierce chasing, Sehun was able to get a smaller white paw onto Jongin’s tail, effectively ending the game.

Exhausted, the two pups collapsed side by side onto their backs on the rich brown earth while their parents came up to them. The adults were all surprised at how developed their motor skills were from such a young age.   They also openly complimented the pups on how nimble they were and gave quick to the pups’ faces and tummies.

After an extended break to allow the pups to regain their breath, Jongdae suggested that they all head back for the midday meal, and led them back to the center of the territory.  Along the way, Jongin found some dried red and brunt orange leaves scattered along their pathway, and took some before rushing up to Sehun and showing him how the leaves would scatter into the wind behind them.

Upon seeing the picturesque sight of leaves blowing away, the younger 7-month-old pup did the same, and watched both his and Jongin’s leaves wisp away almost weightlessly into the air.  The leaves definitely danced and cut through the air, but also got trapped into Yixing’s thick fur.  The alpha brought up the rear along with Junmyeon, and almost all of the leaves hit the alpha squarely between on his face and settled onto his back.  At the funny sight, the two pups broke out in a fit of high pitched giggles and whines as they watched Junmyeon attempt to brush off the leaves from the alpha’s gray coat.

Pleased that Jongin had made Sehun happy, the alpha pup took it upon himself to rub his nose with Sehun’s, and got a fond on his muzzle in return before the white pup turned back to face forward towards Jongin’s parents in front of him.

Once the small group was back with the remainder of the pack for lunch, the two families sat together, and watched as Jongin surprisingly split up his meal in half with Sehun, who bowed his head and thanked Jongin before digging into his portion.  Jongin felt proud that he could help out his best friend, and happily ate alongside the white pup.

After the meal was done (and Kris again offered to wash the dishes along with Kyungsoo, much to the rest of the pack’s amusement over how smitten the head alpha was with the small but strong beta), Sehun wandered around the center of the territory and bounded up to greet Baekhyun to Chanyeol and play with them a bit.  After that, the omega pup then got some fantastic head pats from head alpha Kris before going back to his parents. 

Seeing Jongin there waiting beside his parents, he ambled on up to Jongin who had a giant stick in his mouth.  It was easily three feet wide, and the chocolate pup set the stick down before telling Sehun what he wanted to do.

Hold, Jongin said through the bond before gesturing to the other side of the stick. 

Sehun did as he was told, and gripped the wood in between his jaws before glancing over to Jongin.  Jongin began to walk, and Sehun followed.  Once feeling Jongin tug at his respective end, Sehun immediately understood what he was supposed to do.  This was another game of tug-of-war!

The two playfully pulled and pushed each other in opposite directions, with either pup gaining the upper hand at certain times.  Finally, with one extra powerful yank, Jongin successfully pulled the stick from Sehun’s grasp.  Dejected at this sudden loss (as this had not happened the last time they had played this game), Sehun’s ears folded downwards in sorrow as the white pup sullenly trotted over to Junmyeon and Yixing for comfort.  Jongdae and Minseok similarly made their way over to console their pup as well.

Upset at being the reason behind Sehun’s sadness, Jongin quickly forgot about the stick and dropped it onto the ground before rushing up to Minseok’s arms for comfort as well.  However, not even a minute after being lightly to be calmed down, Jongin wriggled in his appa’s arms to be put down so he could apologize to Sehun.  Instead, Jongdae took his son into his arms and walked over to Junmyeon who was holding a trembling Sehun.

Under the protection of Junmyeon’s arms (and Yixing’s murderous gaze), Sehun looked up as the alpha pup barked out an apology as only a puppy could.

Sowwry, Jongin said, ears folded back flat against the base of his head in sadness.

Not wanting his best friend to feel down, Sehun wriggled out of Junmyeon’s hold, and Jongdae similarly set Jongin down.  The two pups walked up to each other and staring into each other’s eyes.  Sehun’s happiness returned as he reached out a paw and pat Jongin’s head in fondness, effectively accepting Jongin’s apology.

Okay, Sehun said as Jongin launch himself at Sehun, at his muzzle before backing away and sitting down on his puppy , looking back up at both of his parents who smiled back in return.

However, Jongin again cowered under the anger and pheromones emanating from Yixing as the alpha clenched his fists before uncurling them.  He then turned away only relaxed at the feeling of Junmyeon’s touch at the small of his back.

Wanting to get everyone’s minds off the somewhat tense situation, Junmyeon suggested playing with one of the many hollow logs near Yifan’s den. 

After finding a suitable hollowed-out log, an impromptu hide and seek session began, with Sehun making his way into one side of the log with Jongin following closely behind.  The two climbed through and peeked out the other side to greet their respective parents before ducking back inside. 

To make things interesting, Jongdae placed his snout into one end of the log while Junmyeon had stuck his into the other end, effectively trapping both of their sons inside of it.  At this entrapment, Sehun and Jongin both let out tiny squeaks in indignance together.

Jongin attempted to his daddy’s nose, but was met with failure as Jongdae simply held his snout firmly in place.  Sehun scrambled to the other end of the log and lightly bit down onto Junmyeon’s snout.  The omega pup’s teeth were still not that sharp, but the pinching felt by the elder omega was enough for him to extract his white furred snout from his side of the log, effectively bringing Sehun with him. 

Sehun gripped onto his appa’s snout for as long as his front legs could hold on, and Junmyeon quickly set him down before Sehun could fall down and injure himself.  At this sight, Yixing chuckled softly at how aggressive his omega son could be to get himself out of situations of perceived danger.  The alpha was also immensely impressed with Sehun’s quick thinking on how to break out of the log quickly after seeing Jongin’s initial struggle.

Meanwhile, Jongin was nudging his entire body against Jongdae’s snout, and the black furred beta finally yielded to the alpha pup and removed his snout from the circular opening.  Consequentially, the chocolate pup tumbled out after meeting no more resistance from Jongdae.  Rolling onto the forest floor again, Jongin quickly righted himself and looked up at Jongdae with a happy expression upon his snout, his tail wagging quickly in a show of his approval of the exciting activity.

Fun daddy, Jongin said as Minseok came over to Jongin to congratulate him on using his wits to escape.

And with this, the two pups bounded back inside the log and dashed from one end to the other.  Afterwards, Jongin easily climbed on top of the log thanks to his longer legs and larger paws, much to Jongdae and Minseok’s satisfaction.  Once he trotted around for a bit on top of the rough surface, the alpha pup barked down an invitation to Sehun. 

Come up, Jongin said as he stared down at Sehun.

The white pup looked apprehensive as he looked up at the tall log.  He looked to his parents, who were directly behind him, and glanced back at his excited friend atop the log who was hopping up and down in excitement.

With a determined expression upon Sehun’s face, the omega pup placed a comparatively smaller white paw onto the unsmooth surface of the tree trunk, and hoisted his body upwards, only to quickly slid down.  Sehun felt a nudge form his rear end and turned around to see that Junmyeon was attempting to give him a boost.  However, Sehun did not want any help in climbing up the log.

No, Sehun whined out. 

Turning to face the log again, Sehun thought about what he could do.  And then it hit him.  The omega pup backed a couple feet away from the log, and with a small pause, ran at full speed towards the log.  With the added momentum, the small pup was able to launch himself higher onto the log, and with a little difficulty, made his way up onto the log along with Jongin.  The alpha pup complimented Sehun’s successful attempt by covering his friend’s muzzle with of affection.

Similarly, Junmyeon and Yixing both praised their precious pup who was evidentially improving in intelligence every day.  Sehun barked mirthfully in return, and immediately afterwards yawned a big yawn at his great exertion.  Seeing his friend yawn had a similar effect on Jongin who also opened his snout to let out a tired yawn of his own.  The alpha pup was feeling sleepy after playing for a majority of the morning and a little of the afternoon.

Noticing both of the pups’ depleted energy levels and outward expression of tiredness, Minseok suggested that they head back to their den to allow their pups to have a well-deserved power nap before dinnertime. 

Once they returned to Jongdae and Minseok’s den, Jongdae got out another fur pelt for Sehun to lay on directly next to Jongin’s own bed of furs.  While setting up the makeshift bed for the omega pup, Jongin brought over his three stuffed chocolate brown poodles that were similar in color and size to himself from an area in the far corner of the den. 

He gestured his snout to each of the toys, and relayed their names (Monggu, Jjangu, and Jjangah) to a fascinated Sehun.  Sehun sounded out the names slowly, and once he got the hang of it, nodded his head at Jongin in understanding.

With this meeting of Jongin’s toys, Jongdae came over to the two pups and motioned for them to lay down for their afternoon nap.  Jongin nudged both the toy poodles named Jjangu and Jjangah over to his bed while Sehun got underneath the stuffed poodle named Monggu similar to how he transports Vivi and brought it over to his own temporary bed.

The adults chuckled lightly at the adorable sight in front of them before falling into light conversation while each were covered by a large fur pelt.  The pups’ close proximity to each other, the fur pelts underneath them, and the toys themselves all served to create a gentle and cuddly warmth that lulled both young wolves quickly to sleep.  In almost no time at all, only the sound of steady breathing as well as the occasional rustling movement from a vivid dream could be heard from the pups.

“I can’t wait for Jongin to shift,” Minseok said as he watched Jongin’s little legs paw frantically at thin air.  It seems that his little alpha pup was having yet another hunting dream.

“Oh, right.  I totally forgot.  Jongin is ten months old now, right?  His first shift should be about a month or two away,” Yixing responded quietly as he focused on Sehun who remained still except for the rise and fall of his tiny body.

“Yeah, Dr. Jung did say that Jongin is at a healthy percentile in his development,” Jongdae pipes up.  “I can’t wait to see how adorable our son will be.  I wonder whose eyes, lips, and nose he’ll have in his human form.”

“No matter who he resembles more closely, he already has good genes from both parents,” Junmyeon compliments and continues with the praise as Jongin’s parents blush a bit, becoming a little bashful at the sudden compliment.  “What?  I’m only speaking the truth.”

After approximately 20 more minutes of speculating how their pups will look when they shift, they looked over to hear small whines coming from the direction the small wolves.  Evidently Jongin had somehow clung onto Sehun while still sleeping.  The alpha pup had mistaken him for one of his stuffed toy poodles and was now enveloping the smaller omega in his embrace.  Meanwhile, Sehun complied with his friend’s action and was now cuddled up closely next to Jongin who had happily nuzzled and tangled his slightly larger body around the white pup.

Three adults cooed at this adorable site, while one was once again feeling nervous about the close contact that his son was making with the still questionable (to him) alpha pup.  After hastily saying his goodbyes to Minseok and Jongdae, Yixing told his mate that they would now be taking their leave and thanked them for a fun play date.

Yixing then quickly scooped up a still groggy Sehun out from Jongin’s grasp before rushing out of the couple’s den, muttering something about “Maintaining his pup’s decency.” While being carried out, Sehun was still able to bark out a quick goodbye to Jongin over Yixing’s shoulder.

Instead of being grumpy over having his sleep interrupted as well as not having his friend next to him any longer, Jongin instead was pleased that he could finally spend so much time with his best friend.  The alpha pup went back to his midday nap, his dreams now recollecting fondly the fun activities that he had done with Sehun.

“Don’t worry.  It’s a progressive process,” Jongdae assured Junmyeon as the omega looked at his mate and pup exiting the den.

With a chuckle and slight shaking of his head, Junmyeon smiled bashfully at Minseok and Jongdae who both smiled back in quiet understanding regarding Yixing’s protectiveness.

“Thanks for understanding,” Junmyeon answered as he moved to rub Jongin fondly behind the ears before rising back up to follow after Yixing and Sehun.

Baby steps, Junmyeon thought as he caught up with Yixing before taking Sehun out of his arms.  The omega received a big slobbery from the pup before he relaxed back into his appa’s arms and dozed off again while the small family made the short trip back to their own den. 

Today had definitely advanced the already budding friendship between the two pups, and this relationship would only develop further and become strengthened in the far future.

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It's finally here!  Was anyone waiting (approximately two months) for this chapter?  I really believe that this chapter (as well as the first one) are my favorite chapters in this story thus far!  As always, thanks for reading.  Please subscribe, upvote, and comment!  I really do not have anything planned out after Sehun turns one, so any ideas are greatly appreciated!  Also, Elyxion had me DEAD I tell you.  From the fantastic setlist to all the solo performances (Sehun's solo peformance *cough cough* excuse you young man who told you to go and be more hot than you already are), it was everything I never knew I needed in my life!  University is slowly wrapping up for the semester, but I still have a few difficult final exams to get through (coffee is my lifeline at the moment) before I am finally free.  However, I do promise to update more during the holidays.  See you guys (hopefully) very soon!